Battling for Warren County

Rep. Scott Murphy will be in Glens Falls tonight to open a campaign office, his second.

And tomorrow, Chris Gibson, a retired Army colonel who is his GOP challenger, will be in town for a meet the candidate’s night and fundraiser.

For Gibson, it’s a sojourn into enemy territory. Murphy resides in Glens Falls and often touts his large extended family in the area, and indeed, he has done well there electorally. In his 2009 special election, Murphy beat Assemblyman Jim Tedisco by 9,323 to 7,298 in the county. This was well over his margin of victory.

And not too surprising. Murphy’s family ties were one factor, but there was some Republican non-excitement about Tedisco’s candidacy after he edged-out favorite daughter Sen. Betty Little. (Who, interestingly, is distantly related to Murphy’s wife Jennifer Hogan.) I can remember Little’s conspicuous absence from a Tedisco rally in Queensbury and her refusal to say anything other than that she supported “the Republican candidate.” I called her to ask about Gibson but haven’t heard back.

Mike Grasso, the Warren County GOP chair, said Little voiced support for Gibson at a volunteer training on West Mountain. He said Gibson has paid special attention to the county.

“His support is looking excellent right now. He’s had a number of fundraisers. He’s had quite a few fundraisers. And there’s one at Thousand Acres on the 19th,” Grasso said.

It makes sense that this is fertile ground. In 2008, Barack Obama beat John McCain to 16,281 to 15,429, a fairly close split. (Despite that, now-Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand drubbed GOP challenger Sandy Treadwell 19,675 to 10,977.) Gillibrand also carried the county in 2006 (12,383 to 10,621) but ex-Rep. John Sweeney trounced Doris Kelly 19,976 to 7,811 in 2004.